Universal Darkness
by Danny vs A Month
Summary: Everyone knows how bad the eclipse can be on a certain desert planet, but what if that planet weren't the only one? Darkness spreads. It's a universal truth. Of course, after the Chronicles of Riddick, Riddick wouldn't feel like doing much. Luckily it's a universal truth that Light spreads as well. RiddickXKyra
1. Chapter 1

I do not own the Riddick Trilogy or any of the characters.

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One

Lord Marshall of an entire army of half dead monsters and still he had lost the woman he loved. He was still adapting to that knowledge. Even as she lay dying in his arms, he had been unable to admit that he cared about her as anything more than family. But he did. He loved her. And now, without her, he was capable of doing nothing but keeping himself locked in his quarters and having his food delivered once a day. He had originally spent his time training to keep his mind away from her but as it slipped, he found himself unable to even focus on training. Eventually, he found it difficult to even drag himself out of bed. Some days, he didn't bother. He would get up long enough to eat some of his meal then throw the rest away through a trash chute to the incinerator. He even found that more and more of his food was going to the incinerator until it all was. The only thing he could force himself to keep was the water that he had sent. Every couple days he would eat enough to survive but he knew he would still die eventually.

As he lay in bed, he stared up at the ceiling and just lay there. His mind was, once again, replaying images of his memories with her. Even those from their first nightmarish meeting. He couldn't help but replay those. They weren't exactly some small event. If they hadn't gone there, he never would have met Kyra or learned to be a human again, or at least start on that path. There was no way around it. He missed her and soon, if he didn't rejoin the world of the living, he would join her.

"Lord Marshall," Dame Vaako said knocking on the door.

"What?" Riddick asked.

"There's someone you need to see," Dame Vaako said.

Riddick sighed and stood just as Aereon passed through his door solidifying just inside the room.

"You look like death," Aereon said.

"Soon," Riddick said.

"They escaped their world," Aereon said. "They hid in the cargo bay of a ship and got off world then massacred a city when the ship landed. They have been spreading since you took control here. It's the third planet in under a month."

"Not my problem," Riddick said. "If they come here, we'll kill them. Until then, I don't care."

"You would, if you hadn't let Kyra die," Aereon said.

Riddick instantly grabbed a dagger and swung it at her but suddenly felt light headed and stumbled crashing to the floor.

"What did you do?" Riddick asked.

"I did nothing," Aereon said. "You've been laying around for nine months now without eating a damn thing. You're starving and dehydrated. Eat something, then come and see me."

"No," Riddick said. "I'm not hungry."

"You are hungry," Aereon said. "You just don't want to eat because you want to die so that you can be with Kyra again. You failed to save her now you don't want to live but you don't have the guts to kill yourself. I don't know if you care but do you really think that Kyra would want you to waste away just because she died saving you?"

With that, Aereon walked back through the door and Riddick sat on his bed. She was right and he knew it. It still didn't change anything. Even the fact that the galaxy would be destroyed by those, things, didn't change anything.

"By the way," Aereon said stepping back in. "I almost forgot to mention that there's a surprise waiting for you in the infirmary. I suggest you eat first."

And with that, she was gone again. Riddick stood and walked to the meal he had yet to bother even throwing away and ate it quickly. He gave it a couple minutes to settle then left his room in his usual muscle shirt and jeans. He was pale, had dark circles under his eyes, and was still shaky but somehow managed to make it to the infirmary without anyone saying anything.

The moment he was through the door, he froze. Kyra was laying in the bed furthest from the door and was not only alive but awake.

"K...Kyra," Riddick said walking toward her slowly.

"Riddick," Kyra said smiling but looking as surprised as him before it morphed into a grin. "You look like shit."

Riddick blinked in surprise before smiling and collapsing from exhaustion. A day later he awoke in the bed next top hers with an IV feeding his body with everything he had been denying it.

"Finally awake are you?" Kyra asked.

"You're alive," Riddick said. "How?"

"Aereon said she found me and brought me here without really paying much attention to how I was alive," Kyra said. "She said something about looking a gift horse in the mouth."

Riddick smirked and nodded then lay back. He wasn't going to look the gift horse in the mouth either. He had Kyra back. He was slightly afraid it was a dream.

"I'm glad you're alive," Riddick said. "I missed you."

"Now will you eat and get yourself healthy again?" Dame Vaako asked.

"Yes," Riddick said. "I have a question, is there anyone here that can do a shine job?"

"No," Dame Vaako said.

"Then I'll have to go back to prison," Riddick said. "Give me three days then come get me. Kyra, you coming?"

"Neither of you are going anywhere until you're healthy again," Dame Vaako said.

"How long?" Riddick asked.

"At the rat you've been improving, another day," Dame Vaako said.

"Faster," Riddick said.

"Unless you want to become a Necromonger, we can't," Dame Vaako said.

"Fine," Riddick said. "Just hurry."

He lay back and Dame Vaako glared at him for a moment before turning to leave. A day later, Riddick was finally released with Kyra and they took Riddick's personal ship to go to the prison he had gotten his eyes augmented at.

"We need to find him and get him to give you a shine job soon," Riddick said. "Then we'll need to get out before the rescue arrives."

"How long will it be before I can see again?" Kyra asked.

"A week," Riddick said. "We'll need to land on the next planet, blow the ship and send a distress beacon."

"Does our army know the plan?" Kyra asked.

"Parts," Riddick said.

"Do you know the plan?" Kyra asked.

"Other parts," Riddick said.

"Do I?" Kyra asked.

"No," Riddick said. "You will have to trust me. I need to make sure you're still with me."

"Alright," Kyra said. "Time to land then."

She landed the ship and she and Riddick left it then detonated it and sent a distress beacon in the general direction of toward the jail they needed. About an hour later, a group of mercenaries arrived and instantly placed both in chains and began to fly away from the planet. The plan was working. But they still had a long way to go.

THE END

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	2. Chapter 2

I do not own the Riddick Trilogy. I decided to use the Butcher Bay eye-shine origin.

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Incarcerated

"So Riddick," the merc leader said. "Care to explain why we shouldn't just kill you and take the doubled reward?"

"Fame," Riddick said calmly. "You want to be the man known for successfully bringing the Terrible Riddick in alive."

"In where?" the merc leader asked.

"The closest place you can be rid of me," Riddick said. "Butcher Bay."

"Good idea," the merc leader said. "Now explain to me why I should send your beautiful friend here with you?"

"Because if you touch her, you die," Riddick said evenly but still radiating danger. "The moment these chains come off, you die in two seconds. One for me to step over to you, one for me to snap your head around until you're looking at your own ass."

"I'd listen to him," Kyra said. "He invented gruesome death. He once killed a man with his teacup for touching me."

"I gave him a fair warning," Riddick said.

"I think you're bluffing," the merc leader said. "I also think that it's another fifteen hours before we arrive. I think I could do just about anything I want and not worry about you."

"I seriously doubt that," Kyra said smirking as she saw Riddick slipping the pin out of one of his arms' shackles' hinges but holding it together.

"For example," the merc leader said grinning. "I can do this."

He instantly reached toward Kyra's crotch but before his hand was halfway there, Riddick's hand blurred into motion throwing the pin into his temple killing him instantly.

"Told you," Riddick said. "You make a move, you die. You can fix the shackles now, so long as no one else gets any funny ideas."

One of the mercs pulled the pin from the previously leader's head then reassembled the shackle careful to keep his distance from Kyra.

"Smart boy," Riddick said. "Now, who's in charge?"

"I'm next in line," the merc that had fixed the shackle said. "Name's Jameson."

"I'd introduce myself but you probably know me," Riddick said. "Tell you what. I've got some business at Butcher Bay and you really don't want me on this ship any longer than you need. Why don't we make this ship a bit faster?"

"You heard him," Jameson said. "Get us to Butcher Bay."

"Fastest I can do is twelve hours," the pilot said.

"Perfect," Riddick said.

Riddick leaned back against the wall looking over and winking at Kyra. She merely grinned and shook her head. The mercs all went to bed with the exception of the pilot and Kyra soon drifted off to sleep too.

"So what's your name?" Riddick asked.

"Justin," the pilot said. "Justin Fitzgerald."

Justin was medium height and build with loose dark grey clothes concealing bullet proof armor and an assortment of knives. He had black hair combed back and black eyes.

"Is that right," Riddick said. "And what is a guy like you doing with a group of spineless mercs?"

"How do you know I'm not the same?" Justin asked.

"I know," Riddick said. "I can hear it in your voice. You're not spineless. You aren't the run of the mill merc you pretend to be."

"You're right," Justin said. "I was military. Sigma 3."

"Sigma 3," Riddick said smiling at his memories. "Now there was a place that no one deserved. Does this ship have an auto pilot?"

"It does," Justin said.

"And yet you want to stay up," Riddick said.

"I don't trust machines," Justine said.

"That's not it," Riddick said. "You want to get one over on me. You want to use Kyra while I sleep. I have no intention of sleeping so you might as well."

Justin smirked then set the autopilot as well as an alarm clock and walked to his bed laying down and drifting off to sleep. Riddick stayed awake and soon they landed and were led inside. Once there, they reached a large cavern inside a mountain. The room was massive and almost perfectly round with prisoners all around mining for ore in the walls. Riddick had an amused smile as he surveyed the several levels of metal walkways spider-webbing through the room connected to each other with stairs and support beams. There were also stone tunnels leaving the room from all sides and heading deeper in. The only light source were torches set up around the room.

"What is this place?" Kyra asked.

"Not Butcher Bay," Riddick said.

"You're right," Justin said. "Welcome to The Mine, where you will spend the rest of your lives mining ore."

"A mine?" Riddick asked. "Very bad idea. M-344/G is only a few hours away."

"So?" Justin asked.

"So they're on their way," Riddick said. "If they're not already here."

"Then she should have a shine job," Justin said. "Jenson is down bottom. He can do shine jobs but he'll take some convincing."

"What about you?" Riddick asked.

"We can't leave until we're fueled up," Justin said. "See you around, not really."

Justin turned and left and Riddick freed his and Kyra's hands looking around.

"No guards," Kyra said.

"No need," Riddick said. "An entire planet of mining tunnels, one or two hangers total planet-wide, there's no way someone will escape."

"Perfect place for Bioraptors," Kyra said.

"Exactly," Riddick said. "Come on. We need to go."

They made their way to the bottom where the doctor was cutting someone's infected eye out. When he finished, a prisoner that had been watching handed him a stack of money then carried his friend away and the doctor turned toward Riddick and Kyra. He was easily sixty five or older. He was so old that his skin hung off him in folds, his grey hair was falling out in clumps all over his head, his eyes were milky white, and he was shaking slightly.

"What?" the doctor asked.

"My friend needs a shine-job," Riddick said.

"No," the doctor said. "I have to sweep the tunnels later for rats. I don't have time."

"How much?" Riddick asked knowing the man simply wanted pay.

"Her," the doctor said pointing a shaky hand at Kyra. "I will give her a shine-job if I am allowed to enjoy her afterward."

"I'll make you a deal," Riddick said. "My name is Richard B. Riddick and you will either give her a shine-job for free, or I'm going into those tunnels with you. Your choice."

"Alright," the man said after a few minutes. "But I'm going into the tunnels in about twenty minutes. I'll do the shine-job when I get back."

"Then I suggest you go now," Riddick said.

The doctor glared at him for a moment then stood picking up a metal pipe and limped into the tunnel. When he was gone, Kyra turned to Riddick.

"That guy is so not working on my eyes," Kyra said. "He can't hold his hand still."

"Don't worry," Riddick said. "There's no cutting involved."

"Then again, only zero point two percent of recipients survive, and even less regain their vision at all," Justin said walking over. "Don't worry, we have a simple laser surgery that will give you your eyeshine with an eighty percent chance of success. A lot has changed since Riddick got his."

"Good," Riddick said. "Now where do we sleep?"

Justin motioned for them to follow him then led them through a tunnel into a large room with several cells. Riddick and Kyra entered one then Riddick barred the door with a stone. Justin left and Riddick and Kyra both lay against the back wall falling asleep.

The next day, Riddick opened his eyes but stayed silent. Kyra was already awake and listening to the people outside their cell.

"What?" Justin asked.

"The doctor was found dead, or at least, half of him was," someone said. "There's something in the tunnels that isn't rats."

"Where was he found?" Justin asked.

"The income hanger," the other voice said. "There's a ship there currently. We decided to sweep the ship to see what we could find."

"Won't make a difference," Riddick said. "Now that the ship has arrived, they're already in the tunnels. And if not, the men sweeping the ship are the next to die."

"What makes you so sure?" Justin asked.

"Where did the ship come from?" Riddick asked. "And was there a crew?"

"The crew disappeared shortly after landing and the ship came from the other side of the M-344/G system," the other voice said. "Why?"

Just then the room shook violently and a radio began going off with shouts and gunfire, then screaming.

"What was that?" Justin asked.

"Bioraptors," Riddick said. "We're all dead now, unless we can find a ship in one of the hangers."

"There should be one in the outbound hanger if the ship in the income hanger exploded like I think it did," the other voice said as a man in clothing similar to Justin's with messy blonde hair and eyeshine walked over. "My name's Derek."

"Alright Derek," Riddick said. "Here's how it's going to happen. You're going to let us out, take us to someone that can give a shine-job, then you're going to lead us to the hanger. Once there, you, me, Kyra, and Justin are all getting on and flying back to my people. Then, you two will either join us, or die."

"I can give a sine-job," Justin said. "I assume it's for Kyra."

"Yes," Riddick said. "Make it quick."

Justin led them to a cavern with an infirmary set up inside. Once there, Justin strapped Kyra to a bed then moved a machine so that there was a lense over each of Kyra's eyes. A moment later, he walked over and took the controls as laser shot into Kyra's eyes. She clamped her mouth shut and after a few moments, Justin shut off the machine and moved it away wrapping a blindfold around Kyra's eyes.

"Done," Justin said. "Don't take this off until we're off-world."

"Good," Riddick said. "Now I think it's high time we terminated our Incarceration on this newly-formed Hell hole."

He picked up Kyra and held her in a piggy-back then they followed Derek out of the room and into the tunnels. Hell hole, as they would find out, was being kind.

THE END

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